Method and apparatus for improving math skills

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for improving math skills is provided. The method and apparatus present groups of problems to a student in a sequential manner, and award points to the student when the student enters a correct response. Statistics regard the student&#39;s performance are recorded and may be viewed in a variety of selectable formats so that parents, teachers, and other interested parties can track the students progress.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/335,118, filed on Dec. 31, 2002.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for improvingmath skills. An embodiment of the present invention may be employed toimprove a student's math skills and to track and monitor the student'sprogress.

Strong educational skills are an important component for a successfuland productive member of society. In addition, educational skills areconstantly measured and used as a benchmark for schools, teachers andindividual students. Accordingly, many organizations and groups ofpeople including state, local and federal governments, teachers andparents are constantly striving to find new ways to improve a student'seducational skills.

Mathematical skills are vital educational skills that are often targetedfor improvement in today's technology driven world. Accordingly,students are pushed to excel in mathematics related subjects andclasses. However, it is also important to allow students to work attheir own pace, even if that pace is slower or faster than a teacher orparent might desire. A student may feel discouraged or overwhelmed ifthe pace at which they are learning is too fast or simply bored if thepace is too slow for them. Therefore, it is desirable to provide astudent with an environment and method of learning where progress isencouraged without discouraging or overwhelming the student andmaintaining the student's interest.

In addition, it is necessary to evaluate a student's progress inmathematics related subjects and classes. Many students receive gradesor evaluations in their subject and classes, but standard grades andevaluations do not always accurately reflect a student's progress orareas where a student needs improvement. Therefore, it is desirable totrack and monitor a student's progress and to identify, for example,problem areas or areas in which a student needs improvement.

SUMMARY

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for improving astudent's math performance. An advantage of the present invention isthat it improves a student's math skills and enables a teacher or parentto supervise or track the student's progress. A feature of the presentinvention is that it compiles an ongoing record of the student'sprogress that can be viewed and sorted by a number of statisticalcategories.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method forimproving a student's math performance is provided. The inventive methodincludes the steps of displaying a first math problem, receiving aresponse to the problem from the student and determining whether thestudent's response is correct. If the student's response is incorrect,an indication is displayed that the response is incorrect and thestudent is allowed to continually provide answers until the correctresponse is received. Thereafter, the student is awarded a predeterminednumber of points when it is determined that the student has provided acorrect response. The predetermined number of points are added to arunning total of points awarded to the student.

The inventive method then sequentially displays additional math problemsto the student upon receiving a correct response to each previouslydisplayed math problem and continually receives responses from andawards points to the student for the additional math problems as withthe first math problem. Thus, the method presents practice problems tothe student in a game-like format, with the running point total servingas the student's score. In one embodiment, there are no time limits onthe problems, and the student may practice at his or her own pace. Inalternative embodiments, time limits may be imposed on individualproblems or an entire problem session. One feature of this embodiment isthat statistics are maintained regarding the student's performance onthe problems.

In one embodiment, the performance statistics include the number ofresponses received from the student for each problem before a correctresponse is received. In another embodiment, the statistics include anamount of time required by the student to respond correctly to eachproblem.

One advantage of the present invention is that the level of difficultyof the problems displayed may be selected or changed. Accordingly, inone embodiment the performance statistics include one or more parametersindicative of the level of difficulty selected for each problem. Inaddition, the parameters may include the number of digits to be includedin the first operand of the problems, and another parameter may alsoinclude the number of digits to be included in the second operand of theproblems. In yet another embodiment, one or more mathematical operatorsare selected and employed in the displayed math problems. One additionalfeature of the present invention includes displaying the performancestatistics in a number of selectable formats.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, an apparatusfor interactively improving a student's math skills and tracking thestudent's progress is provided. The apparatus includes a display adaptedto display math problems, an input interface for receiving the student'sresponses to the math problems displayed on the display, and aprocessor. The processor is adapted to generate the math problemsdisplayed on the display, evaluate the student's responses in order todetermine whether the student has correctly answered the problems, andto award points to the student when the student correctly answers aproblem. The apparatus further includes a memory for storing statisticsrelated to the student's performance in answering the problems.

In one embodiment, the apparatus is a personal computer or a server. Inan alternative embodiment, the apparatus is a handheld device, forexample, a programmable personal digital assistant. The handheld deviceof the present invention is configured to transfer the statistics storedin the memory to another device such as a personal computer, a server ora computer network via a synchronization function performed between thehandheld device and the other device.

One advantage of the present invention is that the processor can beadapted to parse the statistics and to cause the display to display thestatistics in a graphical manner. In one embodiment, the statistics aredisplayed as a 3-dimensional graph. The 3-dimensional graph preferablyincludes a first axis and a second axis which relate to the complexityof the problems addressed by the student, and a third axis which relatesto the student's performance on the problems. For instance, the firstaxis could represent a number of digits in a first operand of theproblems addressed by the student, and the second axis could represent anumber of digits in a second operand of the problems addressed by thestudent. In one embodiment, the data represented by the third axis isselectable. The data represented by the third axis is preferablyselected from the group of data including the number of problemsattempted, a number of correct responses, a number of incorrectresponses, an average time required for each correct answer, and anaverage time for each incorrect answer. In one embodiment, thestatistics displayed in the 3-dimensional graph are selectable accordingto mathematical operators employed in the problems. Preferably, thestatistics relating problems employing different mathematical operatorsare displayed in different colors.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, a method oftracking a student's progress in developing math skills is provided. Themethod includes the steps of generating and sequentially displaying anumber of problems to be solved by the student, receiving the student'sanswers to the problems, maintaining a database which records eachproblem presented to the student and every response received from thestudent to each problem presented, and displaying statistics regardingthe student's performance in at least one of a number of selectableformats.

In one embodiment, the problems being generated and displayed arepresented in a game-like format where the student is awarded points forproviding correct answers to the problems. In addition, the next problemin a sequence of problems is not displayed until the correct answer hasbeen received for the immediately preceding problem.

One advantage of the inventive method is that the selectable formats fordisplaying the statistics include at least one of a number of formats,such as a graphical format, an alpha-numeric text format, and a tabularformat. Further, the displayed statistics can include any combination ofa number of problems attempted by the student, a number of digits in afirst operand of the problems attempted by the student, a number ofdigits in a second operand of the problems attempted by the student, themathematical operator employed in each problem, the number of incorrectanswers to each problem received from the student, the number of correctresponses received from the student, the amount of time required for thestudent to answer each problem, and the average time to answer eachproblem.

A further advantage is that the selectable formats for displayingperformance may include a 3-dimensional graph. The 3-dimensional graphincludes a first axis and a second axis which relate to the complexityof the problems addressed by the student, and a third axis which relatesto the student's performance on said problems. In one embodiment, thefirst axis represents the number of digits in the first operand of theproblems addressed by the student, and the second axis represents thenumber of digits in the second operand of the problems addressed by thestudent. Preferably, the data represented by said third axis isselectable. For example, the data represented by the third axis may beselectable from a group of data including the number of problemsattempted, the number correct student responses, the number of incorrectstudent responses, the average time for each correct answer, and theaverage time for each incorrect answer. By employing the presentinvention, the statistics displayed in the 3-dimensional graph areselectable according to mathematical operators, or problems havingdifferent mathematical operators may be displayed together usingdifferent colors.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a method of trackinga group of students' progress in developing math skills is provided. Themethod includes the steps of generating and sequentially displaying anumber of problems to be solved by each of the students, receiving eachof the students' answers to the problems, and maintaining a databasewhich records each problem presented to each of the students and everyresponse received from each of the students to each problem presented.Subsequently, statistics are displayed according to the method, wherethe statistics reflect the group of students' performance. Thestatistics are displayed in at least one of a number of selectableformats.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention aredescribed in, and will be apparent from, the following DetailedDescription of the Invention and the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a screen for logging a student into aproblem session.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a screen for selecting parameters for aproblem session.

FIGS. 3-10 are diagrams illustrating a screen for displaying problemsduring a problem session.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method for improving a student'smath skills and tracking a student's performance.

FIGS. 12-20 are diagrams illustrating performance statistics reflectiveof a student's overall progress record.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for improving astudent's math performance. The present invention improves a student'smath skills by enabling the student to work at their own pace and byencouraging the student to continually aim for the correct answer. Inaddition, the present invention also enables one such as a teacher orparent to supervise, monitor and track the student's progress bycompiling an ongoing record of the student's progress and performancestatistics related to the student's progress. The student's progressrecord therefore may be viewed and sorted by a number of statisticalcategories.

In one embodiment according to the present invention, a number ofmathematical problems are generated and displayed, during a problemsession, in a game-like format. In this embodiment, the student isawarded points for providing correct answers to the problems. Eventhough a game-like format is used in this embodiment, it should beappreciated that any suitable format can be used for presenting problemsduring a problem session.

FIG. 1 shows a logon screen 10 for logging a student into a problemsession. The student either selects their name from the listed names 12or types their name in the selection space 14. If the student typestheir name in the selection space 14, then their name will be added tothe listed names 12 the next time the student logs into a problemsession. Here, the student has selected one of the listed names 12 asindicated by the highlighted name “Joe Smith,” thereby causing the nameto also be listed in the selection space 14. Once the student hasselected or entered their name, they are ready to log into the problemsession by pressing start button 16. Alternatively, the student may quitwithout logging in by pressing the quit button 18. Once the studentpresses the start button 16, the problem session begins.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the problemsdisplayed during the problem session may be customized. FIG. 2 shows asetup screen 20 for selecting or customizing parameters to be used forthe problems displayed during the problem session. Here, the number ofdigits 22 for each operand 24 of the problems displayed during theproblem session may be customized. In addition, by selecting the numberof digits 22 for each operand 24, the mathematical operators 26 to beemployed with each of the operands 24 of the displayed problems may alsobe selected.

If desired, each of the operands 24 of the displayed problems can becustomized to employ negative inputs 28. As an alternative to usingstandard numbers, the setup screen 20 enables the displayed problems tobe customized to employ currency indicators 30. However, it should berealized that in the setup screen 20, currency indicators 30 are onlyavailable for the mathematical operators 26 of addition and subtraction.The setup screen 20 also includes a negative differences option 32 thatallows the use of negative differences for the answer to the displayedproblems.

As will be discussed below, the problem session awards points to thestudent for each correct answer. In one embodiment, the points awardedvary based on the level of difficulty selected for the problem session.Accordingly, the setup screen 20 displays the point base 34 for thenumber of digits 22, operands 24, and mathematical operators 26selected. It should be appreciated that as the selected level ofdifficulty increases, the point base 34 will also increase. Forinstance, increasing the number of digits 22 from “2 digits” to “3digits” causes the point base 34 to increase. Thus, an increased levelof difficulty generally results in an increased number of pointsawarded. In this manner, the student is encouraged to increase thedifficulty level as their proficiency improves in order to receive theincreased points awarded for more difficult problems.

In an embodiment, the answer to the displayed problem can be limited.For instance, the answer could be required to be less than or equal toan integer N. Thus, each answer to the displayed problem would be lessthat or equal to N, where N is an integer. In an embodiment, N is awhole positive number. It should be appreciated that limiting the answerin this fashion allows for the customization of the difficulty level ofthe displayed problems.

In the above-described embodiment, the customization parameters aredirected towards the level of difficulty of the problems displayedduring the problem session. However, it should be appreciated that anysuitable parameters may be customized during the problem session. Forexample, the format in which the equations or problems are displayed onthe screen may be customized. In one embodiment, the problems aredisplayed in a vertical format. Alternatively, the problems may bedisplayed in a horizontal format.

In addition, for instance, the algebraic format of the equations orproblems can be customized. In one embodiment, the solution to thedisplayed problem is the only unknown value, that is, the studentcorrectly answers the displayed problem by supplying the correctsolution. Alternatively or in combination with solution to the displayedproblem, the unknown value could include the mathematical operator andeither of the operands. Therefore, the student might be required tosupply the mathematical operator or the missing operand from thedisplayed problem in order to correctly answer the displayed problem.

Once the problem session parameters have been customized as desired, theproblem session begins. It should be appreciated however that theproblem session parameters do not have to be customized each time aproblem session begins. Accordingly, in an embodiment, default problemsession parameters are used to begin a problem session. In anotherembodiment, the session parameters from the student's previous sessionmay be used as the default parameters.

FIG. 3-10 are diagrams illustrating a problem screen 100 for displayingproblems during a problem session. The problem screen 100 in FIG. 3-5illustrates a first displayed problem. The problem screen 100 in FIGS.6-10 illustrate a second displayed problem. The problem as displayed inFIGS. 3-10 collectively illustrate various portions of a problem sessionaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the student's name 102 is displayed in thecenter of the problem screen 100, thereby indicating that a problemsession has been initiated for the named student 102 and that theresults of the problem session will be stored as part of the namedstudent's overall progress record and performance statistics. Thestudent's overall point total 104 and overall number of correct answers106 are also displayed in the problem screen 100.

In addition, progress meter 108 indicates how many questions the studenthas answered correctly for this problem session. The progress meter 108indicates that the student has already correctly answered one out of tenquestions. In one embodiment, the progress meter 108 resets to zeroafter the student correctly answers ten questions. Alternatively, theprogress meter 108 may be reset after any suitable number of questionshave been correctly answered. It should also be appreciated that theprogress meter 108 could be used to indicate the end of a problemsession. Therefore, the progress meter 108 could be used to show thatthe problem session ends when the student has correctly answered, forexample, ten problems.

The problem 110 displayed in FIGS. 3-5 includes a first operand 114, asecond operand 116, an operator 118 and a solution window 112. The firstoperand 114 is the number forty, the second operand 118 is the number 79and the operator 118 is the +symbol for addition. Thus, the student mustcorrectly answer the problem 40+79=? and enter the correct answer in thesolution window 112.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the student has performed the calculationindicated by the displayed problem and has entered an answer in thesolution window 112. In this case, the student has entered the number119 into the solution window 112. As indicated by answer prompt 120, thestudent must press the enter button (not shown) on the keyboard to checkthe answer. In this embodiment, the student presses the enter button tocheck the answer, but it should be appreciated that any suitable buttonon the keyboard could be used to check the student's answer.Alternatively, the student could be required to press or click a button(not shown) on the problem screen 100 in order to check the answer.

In FIG. 5 the student has answered the problem and pressed the enterbutton to check the answer. The answer supplied by the student, “119”,is correct as indicated by answer prompt 121. In addition, the student'soverall point total 104 has been updated from “625” to “638” to reflectthe points awarded (i.e., thirteen points) to the student for correctlyanswering the displayed problem 110. After awarding the points for thecorrect answer, the problem session automatically advances to the nextdisplayed problem and the problem session continues in this fashion.

The problem screen 100 shown in FIGS. 6-10 shows a previous problem 110from the same problem session.

In this problem the first operand 114 is the number nineteen, the secondoperand 116 is the number eighty-one, and the operator 118 is again theaddition symbol “+”. Thus, to correctly solve this problem the studentmust enter the correct value for the problem 19+81=? in the solutionwindow 112. The main difference between the problem displayed in FIGS.6-10 and that displayed in FIGS. 3-5 (other than the different operands)is that the problem in FIGS. 6-10 has been designated as a “double bonusproblem”, as indicated in the answer prompt 120.

Once the student correctly answers the displayed problem 110, pointswill be awarded to the student, as described above. However, since thedisplayed problem 110 is a double bonus problem, the points awarded tothe student will be doubled. In one embodiment, double bonus problemsoccur randomly. Alternatively, double point bonuses are awarded forproblems with a predetermined level of difficulty.

Referring now to FIG. 7, the student has performed the calculationindicated by the displayed problem 110 (i.e., 19+81=?) and has enteredan answer in the solution window 112. The answer entered by the studentis the number “109.” As described above, the student must press theenter button on the keyboard to check the answer.

After pressing the enter button, the answer prompt 120 indicates whetherthe answer or response provided is correct or incorrect. As shown inFIG. 8, the attempt or response of “109” is incorrect and the answerprompt 120 encourages the student to try again. Thus, the student mayagain attempt to provide the correct answer. In this manner, the problemsession encourages the student to keep trying until they provide thecorrect answer. Accordingly, the student is able to work at their ownpace. In addition, performance statistics relating to the number ofattempts entered by the student working on each problem until they getit right are stored so that the data can be used to identify areas whereimprovement may be needed.

Furthermore, the statistics which are recorded for each problem can beanalyzed to determine whether subsequent problems should be moredifficult or easier based on the student's performance. A decision tomake future problems easier, maintain the same level of difficulty orincrease the level of difficulty may be made based on historicalperformance. Recorded performance statistics or parameters such as,response time, answer status, and number of attempts, and the like. Whensuch an analysis indicates that the student is making fewer mistakes andresponding faster, harder problems may be generated to keep pace withthe student's progress.

In FIG. 9, the student has again entered an answer in the solutionwindow 112. The answer entered by the student in this second attempt isthe number “100.” Again, the student must press the enter button on thekeyboard to check the answer. This time the answer is correct, asindicated in FIG. 10. The student has pressed the enter button to checktheir answer. The answer “100” entered in the solution window 112 on thestudent's second attempt is correct as indicated by answer prompt 120.In addition, the student's overall point total 104 has been updated from“601” to “625” to reflect the double points awarded (i.e., twenty-fourpoints) to the student for correctly answering the displayed problem110. As described above, after awarding the points for the correctanswer, the problem session automatically advances to the next displayedproblem and the problem session continues in the same manner.

In an embodiment, the student can press a reveal button (not shown) suchas the space bar when they do not know or are having trouble calculatinga correct response to a displayed problem, thereby skipping the problem.Pressing the reveal button allows the student to reveal the answer tothe displayed problem and causes the problem session to automaticallyadvance to the next problem. In an embodiment, the number of times thestudent presses the reveal button and the problem associated withpressing the reveal button will be recorded in the student's progressrecord, thereby offering further insight into a student's progress. Inan embodiment, skipped problems are included in the total number ofattempts by the student.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart illustrating a method for improving a student'smath skills and tracking a student's performance. The method starts byinitiating a problem session at step 200. At step 202, a problem isdisplayed to the student, and at step 204, the student enters an answerto the displayed problem. Once the student has entered a response adetermination is made at step 206 whether or not the supplied answer iscorrect.

If the supplied answer is not correct, then the attempt is recorded atstep 214, that is, the information concerning the attempt including theincorrect answer that was entered is recorded. The problem session thenreturns to step 204 where the student is allowed to re-enter an answerto the displayed problem. The problem session proceeds in this fashionuntil the student enters the correct answer. Once the student suppliesthe correct answer to the problem, the problem session proceeds to step208 where the results are recorded. The results recorded at step 208include the answer to the problem, the type of problem answered and thetime taken to answer the problem.

At step 210, points are awarded to the student for correctly answeringthe problem. Once processing for a given problem is complete a check ismade at step 212 to see whether the problem session is to continue. Inone embodiment, the problem session ends only when the studentaffirmatively ends the problem session. In an alternative embodiment,the problem session automatically ends after a predetermined number ofproblems have been answered correctly. If the problem session is tocontinue, then the problem session proceeds to step 202 where adifferent problem is displayed and the process repeats in the mannerdescribed above. If the problem session is to end, then the problemsession ends at step 216.

As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention,an overall progress record is maintained for each student. The progressrecord includes data relating to the student's performance in problemsessions. The progress record, including performance statistics derivedfrom the student's performance, may be sorted and viewed in multipleselectable formats. According to an embodiment of the invention,performance statistics reflecting the student's recorded progress recordare selectively parsed and compiled, and then displayed in a graphicalmanner.

FIGS. 12-20 are diagrams illustrating performance statistics reflectiveof a student's overall progress record, and the various ways in whichthey may be presented. A performance screen 300 is shown in FIG. 12. Theperformance screen 300 illustrates performance statistics for the namedin the student I.D. field 301. The performance screen 300 includes a3-dimensional graph 302 having a first axis 304, a second axis 306 and athird axis 308. In the embodiment shown, the first axis 304 representsthe number of digits in the first operand of the problems answered bythe student and the second axis 306 represents the number of digits inthe second operand. The third axis 308 represents selectable data,including for example, the number of problems attempted by the student,the number of correct attempts or responses, the number of incorrectattempts or responses, the average time required to enter each correctanswer and an average time required for each incorrect answer.

The third axis 308 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12 corresponds to thenumber of correct attempts as indicated by attempts selector 310 andgraph title 312. The attempts selector 310 as well as seconds selector314 are selectable options that allow the user to choose betweendisplaying the number attempts or third axis 308. In addition, the usermay select between correct and incorrect attempts and between averageseconds for correct answers and average time for incorrect answers byselecting the correct selector 316 or the incorrect selector 318. In thedisplay window shown in FIG. 12, since both the correct selector 316 andthe attempts selector 310 are selected, the third axis 308, representsthe number of correct attempts. Further, it should be appreciated thatthe data presented in the 3-dimensional graph 302 is scaled as indicatedby scale legend 319.

The 3-dimensional graph 302 may be employed to display data for each ofthe selected mathematical operators (i.e., addition, subtraction,multiplication and division) either individually or collectively. InFIG. 12, the data are collectively displayed because operator selector320 “All” has been selected, thereby indicating that data for all of themathematical operators are to be displayed on the 3-dimensional graph302. It should be appreciated that the data for the mathematicaloperators displayed on the 3-dimensional graph 302 can be distinguishedby using different colors or shading for each unique operator.

Performance screen 300 also includes an attempts table 322 and a secondstable 324 which displays the performance data in a tabular format ratherthan a graphical format. The data displayed by the attempts table 322and the seconds table 324, like the data displayed by the 3-dimensionalgraph 302, also may be selectively displayed in a manner similar to thatdescribed above. Performance screen 300 further includes a percentageselector 326 which enables the user to selectively view the attemptstable 322 as the percentage of correct or incorrect attempts rather thanthe raw number of correct or incorrect attempts.

It should be appreciated that the data selectively presented by3-dimensional graph 302, attempts table 322 and seconds table 324provides an extensive and adaptive way for a user to view a student'sprogress record and present performance statistics. In addition, it willbe evident from the following figures that the data can be selectivelypresented in a way that isolates problem areas or areas that may needimprovement as well as areas in which a student excels.

The problem screen 300 in FIG. 13 includes the 3-dimensional graph 302which displays the number of correct attempts for addition problems onlythis display mode is accessed by selecting operator selector “Add.” 320Likewise, the attempts table 322 and the elapsed time table 324 displayonly performance data relating to currently answered addition problems.When the performance statistics are limited to a single area in thismanner, the graph is easier to read and it is easier to identify thestudent's problem areas as well as determining their strengths.

The 3-dimensional graph 302 displayed on the performance screen 300shown in FIG. 14 displays only the number of correct attempts forsubtraction problems. This display mode is accessed by selecting theoperator selector “Sub.” 320. Similarly, the attempts table 322 and theelapsed time table 324 display only performance data relating tocorrectly answered subtraction problems. Again, viewing performanceinformation that has been limited to a single mathematical operatorallows the user to more easily identify the student's strengths andweaknesses. For example, it is easy to see from the graph 302 and theattempts table 322 that a majority of the problems that the studentanswered correctly were subtraction problems having two digits in eachoperand.

The problem screen 300 in FIG. 15 includes the 3-dimensional graph 302which displays the number of correct attempts for multiplicationproblems only this display mode is accessed by selecting the indicatedoperator selector “Mult.” 320. Again, the attempts table 322 and theelapsed time table 324 display only performance data relating tocorrectly answered multiplication problems. Similarly, the 3-dimensionalgraph 302, the attempts table 322 and the elapsed time table 324 of FIG.16 all display performance data for division problems only as indicatedby the selection of operator selector 320 “Div.”

The problem screen 300 in FIG. 17 includes the 3-dimensional graph 302which displays the number of incorrect attempts for all problems asindicated by the selection of operator selector 320 “All” and selectionof the incorrect selector 318. Similarly, the attempts table 322 and theelapsed time table 324 also display performance data relating to allincorrect answers and attempts. It should be appreciated that thedisplayed data and the selectable options make it much easier toidentify a student's potential strengths and weaknesses. For example,the student named in the student I.D. field 301 did not incorrectlyanswer any problems where the first operand included two digits and thesecond operand included one digit, indicating a possible strength.Conversely, the student incorrectly answer a large number of problemswhere both operands included two digits, indicating an area of weakness.It should be appreciated that evaluating the incorrect answers andattempts by viewing only selected mathematical operators could furtherisolate and identify the areas where a student may excel or may needimprovement.

As shown in FIG. 18, the performance screen 300 includes the3-dimensional graph 302 where the third axis 308 has been selected torepresent the average number of seconds for each incorrect answer to beentered for problems involving all four operators. This display mode isaccessed by selecting the incorrect selector 318, operator selector“All” 320 and seconds selector 314. Similarly, the third axis 308 in the3-dimensional graph 302 in FIG. 19 shows the average number of secondsrequired for the student to enter the correct answers for all problems.As with the other display modes the user may further examine the data byviewing only problems involving a single mathematical operator. Itshould be appreciated that the ability to examine performance based onthe number of attempts and the average amount of time for answers to beentered, both for correct and incorrect answers, offers the userflexibility in examining a student's performance and additional insightinto the student's progress.

In an embodiment of the invention the 3-dimensional graph 302 may bephysically manipulated to assist the user in viewing the data containedin the graph 302. Accordingly, the user may physically rotate the graph302 in 3-dimensions to better view and examine all of the performancestatistics contained in the graph 302. As an illustration of thiscapability, the 3-dimensional graph 302 shown in FIG. 20 has beenrotated from the position shown in FIGS. 12-19.

FIG. 20 shows an additional feature of the performance screen 300according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG.20, the performance screen 300 further includes a text window 330. Textwindow 330 displays information for each of the problems attempted bythe student. The information displayed in text window 330 includes thedate each of the problems were attempted, the sequential number of theproblems attempted, as well as the problems themselves, and eachresponse made by the student, whether correct or incorrect, and thenumber of seconds taken by the student for each attempt. In addition,the text window includes information indicating whether or not thedisplayed problem was a double bonus problem.

In one embodiment, the text window 330 includes information relating thestudent's use of the reveal button, described above. For instance,problems 2) to 5) in text window do not have a number of seconds perattempt associated with them. Instead, there is a “-” (dash) associatedwith each of these problems under the seconds heading. The use of the“-” (dash) is one indicator that the student used the reveal button. Inaddition, colors can be used to further identify and distinguish thetype of answer. For example, a correct answer could be a first uniquecolor, an incorrect answer could be a second unique color and a revealedanswer could be a third unique color. Thus, the text window 330 furtherenhances the tracking and monitoring ability of the present invention.

The above-described problem session employing the problem screen 100 maybe generated in one embodiment using computer software or the like. Inan embodiment, the problem session runs on a personal computer and thestudents' overall progress records including performance statistics, arestored on a memory device within the personal computer. Similarly, theperformance screen 300 for displaying the students' overall progressrecord and performance statistics can also be generated and displayedusing computer software operating on a personal computer or the like.Thus, the students' progress record can be accessed and parsed and theperformance statistics can be compiled using, for example, a computerhaving a processor, a display and an appropriate memory device.

In another alternative embodiment, the problem session is run from acentralized location such as a centralized computer or collection ofcomputers (e.g., a server). Thus, the problem session is capable ofbeing distributed to a number of students via a computer network, suchas an internet or an intranet. In this fashion, each student is able toaccess the problem session using a client program (e.g., a web browser).Running the problem session from a centralized location enables each ofthe student's progress records to be recorded in a centralized location,thereby facilitating data compilation and analysis. Further, it enablesa student to access the problem session from a remote location which canbe beneficial if, for example, a student is out of town to attend afuneral or a student is forced to miss an extended period of time inschool due to a medical condition.

In another alternative embodiment, the problem session runs on ahandheld device or a handheld computing device. Suitable handheldcomputing devices include but are not limited to laptop or palmtopcomputers such as a personal digital assistants. Personal digitalassistants are desirable in that they are generally programmable and caneasily and inexpensively be configured to meet the needs of the presentinvention. Additionally, most handheld computing devices includesynchronization functions that allow data stored on a memory devicewithin the handheld device to easily be transferred from the handhelddevice to an other device such as a personal computer or a computernetwork.

Accordingly, in an embodiment of the invention, a student may complete anumber of problem sessions on a handheld computing device. The student'songoing progress record can be temporarily stored on the hand helddevice and then transferred directly to a personal computer or acomputer network via the handheld device's synchronization function.Once the student's data have been transferred to the personal computer,a teacher, parent, or other interested person may selectively view thestudent's progress record and performance statistics to monitor andtrack the student's mathematical performance. In addition, the teacheror parent could also merge the student's progress record with thestudent's preexisting progress record to maintain an ongoing overallprogress record. The teacher or parent could also export a student'sprogress record in a readable format such as that shown in text window330 of FIG. 20.

In a further alternative embodiment, the problem session runs on a videogame console. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that the apparatusfor running problem sessions according to the present invention can beany suitable device having a processor, a display and an input devicefor receiving input from the student.

Further, it should be appreciated that a teacher could use the presentinvention to monitor the progress of an entire class or group ofstudents. In addition, the teacher could compile overall class or groupstatistics to assist, for example, in preparing for standardized orperformance tests. Even further, the collated statistics gathered from alarge body of students can be used for assessment purposes formonitoring the effectiveness of teachers, schools and entire schooldistricts. The statistics also be used to compare school districts, andthe like.

In an embodiment, data recorded according to the present invention(e.g., progress records) can be used in place of year-end arithmeticachievement or performance tests. Using this data provides an overallrecord of a student's performance. The present invention thereforecompensates for a number of situations, such as absent students on testdays or students who may not perform optimally under exam conditions. Itshould be appreciated that unlimited analysis methods or procedures canbe applied to the recorded data for performance measurement orenhancement purposes.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to thepresently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent tothose skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention andwithout diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intendedthat such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.

1. An apparatus for tracking an individual's progress in learning asubject matter, the apparatus comprising: at least one display device,at least one input device, at least one processing unit, and at leastone memory device that stores a plurality of instructions, which, whenexecuted by the at least one processing unit, cause the at least oneprocessing unit to operate with the at least one input device and the atleast one display device to: (a) generate a first assessment questionwithin the subject matter, (b) display the first assessment question,(c) receive a response to the first assessment question from theindividual, (d) determine whether the individual has correctly answeredthe first assessment question, (e) store a quantifiable assessment inassociation with the individual based on whether the individual hascorrectly answered the first assessment question, (f) store at least twocharacteristics of the first assessment question in association with thequantifiable assessment, (g) based on the quantifiable assessment,generate a second assessment question within the subject matter, (h)display the second assessment question, (i) receive a response to thesecond assessment question from the individual, (j) determine whetherthe individual has correctly answered the second assessment question,(k) alter the stored quantifiable assessment based on whether theindividual has correctly answered the second assessment question, (l)store at least two characteristics of the second assessment question inassociation with the quantifiable assessment, and (m) display a3-dimensional graph including a first axis, a second axis, and a thirdaxis, at least one of said first axis and said second axis relating toone of the two or more characteristics of the first or second assessmentquestions, and said third axis relating to the stored quantifiableassessment.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the subject matterincludes mathematics.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the at leasttwo characteristics of the first assessment question include a number ofdigits in a first operand of the first assessment question and a numberof digits in a second operand of the first assessment question, andwherein the first axis represents the number of digits in the firstoperand and the second axis represents the number of digits in thesecond operand.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the third axisrelates also represents data selected from the group consisting of: anumber of assessment questions answered, a number of correct responsesto assessment questions, a number of incorrect responses to assessmentquestions, an average time required for each correct response toassessment questions, and an average time for each incorrect response toassessment questions.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pluralityof instructions cause the at least one processing unit to generate thesecond assessment question based on at least one of whether thedetermination is that the individual has correctly answered the firstassessment question, an amount of time spent answering the firstassessment question, and whether the individual skipped the firstassessment question.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pluralityof instructions cause the at least one processing unit to generate thesecond assessment question as more difficult than the first assessmentquestion if the determination is that the individual has correctlyanswered the first assessment question.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processingunit to generate the second assessment question as less difficult thanthe first assessment question if the determination is that theindividual has incorrectly answered the first assessment question
 8. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the atleast one processing unit to generate the second assessment questionbased on at least one of the at least two characteristics of the firstassessment question.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pluralityof instructions cause the at least one processing unit to generate thesecond assessment question based, at least in part, on an amount of timethe individual spent answering the first assessment question.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the atleast one processing unit to operate with the at least one input deviceto enable a user to indicate which of the at least two characteristicsof the first assessment question to associate with each axis of the3-dimensional graph.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the user isdifferent from the individual that provided answers to the firstassessment question and the second assessment question.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of instructions, whenexecuted by the at least one processing unit, cause the at least oneprocessing unit to operate with the at least one input device to enablethe user to change data associated with one of the axes of the3-dimensional graph.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, which is a portabledevice, and which includes at least one network interface device toenable communications with at least one server device.
 14. The apparatusof claim 13, wherein the portable device communicates with the networkinterface device using a wired connection, a wireless connection, or acombination wired/wireless combination.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13,which includes at least one network interface device to enablecommunication with at least one other client device in a peer-to-peerenvironment.
 16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the plurality ofinstructions cause the at least one processing unit to operate with theat least one network interface device to display the first assessmentquestion and the second assessment question based on data received fromthe server via the at least one network interface device.
 17. Theapparatus of claim 1, which is configured for use in a non-classroomsetting.
 18. The apparatus of claim 1, which enables at least onesupervisor to determine at least one optimal learning path based on thestored quantifiable assessment.
 19. The apparatus of claim 1, which canoperate as at least one of a standalone device and a client device incommunication with a server.
 20. The apparatus of claim 1, which isconfigured for use in a non-classroom setting.
 21. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the subject matter includes educational material notdirectly associated with a school curriculum.
 22. An apparatus fortracking an individual's progress in learning a subject matter, theapparatus comprising: at least one display device, at least one inputdevice, at least one processing unit, and at least one memory devicethat stores a plurality of instructions, which, when executed by the atleast one processing unit, cause the at least one processing unit tooperate with the at least one input device and the at least one displaydevice to: (a) generate at least one assessment question within thesubject matter, (b) display each of the at least one assessmentquestion, (c) receive a response to each displayed assessment question,(d) determine whether the individual has correctly answered the at leastone displayed assessment question, (e) store an indication of theindividual's understanding of the subject matter based on thedetermination of whether the individual has correctly answered the atleast one displayed assessment question, (f) store at least twocharacteristics of the at least one assessment question, (g) based onthe stored indication of the individual's understanding of the subjectmatter, display a 3-dimensional graph including a first axis, a secondaxis, and a third axis, at least one of said first axis and said secondaxis relating to one of the two or more characteristics of the at leastone assessment question, and said third axis indicating the individual'sunderstanding of the subject matter.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22,wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least one processingunit to store the indication of the individual's understanding of thesubject matter based on at least one of whether the determination isthat the individual has correctly answered the first assessmentquestion, an amount of time spent answering the first assessmentquestion, and whether the individual skipped the first assessmentquestion.
 24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the plurality ofinstructions cause the at least one processing unit to operate with theat least one input device to enable a user to select which of the atleast two characteristics to associate with at least one of the firstaxis and the second axis.
 25. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein theplurality of instructions cause the at least one processing unit tooperate with the at least one input device to enable a user to indicatea desired mechanism for determining the indication of the individual'sunderstanding of the subject matter.
 26. The apparatus of claim 25,wherein the desired mechanism includes a determination based on thequantity of assessment questions answered correctly and a difficulty ofthose assessment questions.
 27. The apparatus of claim 22, which is aportable device, and which includes at least one network interfacedevice to enable communications with at least one server device.
 28. Theapparatus of claim 27, wherein the portable device communicates with thenetwork interface device using a wired connection, a wirelessconnection, or a combination wired/wireless combination.
 29. Theapparatus of claim 22, which includes at least one network interfacedevice to enable communication with at least one other client device ina peer-to-peer environment.
 30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein theplurality of instructions cause the at least one processing unit tooperate with the at least one network interface device to display the atleast one assessment question based on data received from the server viathe at least one network interface device.
 31. The apparatus of claim27, wherein the plurality of instructions cause the at least oneprocessing unit to operate with the at least one network interfacedevice to store the indication of the individual's understanding of thesubject matter based on data received from the server via the networkinterface device.
 32. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the pluralityof instructions cause the at least one processing unit to operate withthe at least one network interface device to display the 3-dimensionalgraph based on data received from the server via the network interfacedevice.
 33. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the at least oneassessment question is associated with a second section, and wherein theplurality of instructions cause the at least one processing unit tostore the indication of the individual's understanding based on thedetermination of whether the individual has correctly answered the atleast one displayed assessment question and also based on responses theindividual provided during a previous, first session.
 34. The apparatusof claim 22, wherein the subject matter includes educational material inassociation with a school curriculum.
 35. The apparatus of claim 22,which enables at least one supervisor to determine at least one optimallearning path based on the stored quantifiable assessment.
 36. Theapparatus of claim 22, which can operate as at least one of a standalonedevice and a client device in communication with a server.
 37. Theapparatus of claim 22, which is configured for use in a non-classroomsetting.
 38. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the subject matterincludes educational material not directly associated with a schoolcurriculum.